CNELL safety gear?

[Tazz]

I have a set of their kevlar lined jeans and they are well made and very comfortable.

As you'll probably hear I don't expect them to protect as well as leather but are cooler in summer and more versatile.

They have knee and hip pads.

I have a pair of these too. Don't rate them overly highly and only wear them with MX boots as the kevlar stops quite high up the shin. I'd like to say it is for safetys sake that I like the taller boots with em, but it's actually because I'm a girls blouse and they are considerably cooler than my Bullit kevlar jeans which are lined a lot better.

I have had quite a bit of irritation from the way the knee pad folds the jeans around the back and without the high boots it sits a bit low too.

The initial water 'proofing' is also very good, you just need to keep applying it (like anything) if you want it to stay (kevlar is useless when wet, so it's a good idea t do so)

In saying all that, for the price they are great and once this pair is trashed I'll probably replace them.

They are absolute rip offs for postage so make sure you pick up if cost is an issue =)

[biketimus_prime]

I went to this place out near the airport one afternoon when looking for bike gear. Their gear looks great in pictures and have nice descriptions online, but damn they suck in real life.

The gear fits horribly, the sizes don't mean sh*t.
The jackets were poor quality with thread coming off and ill fitting.
The gloves were cheap feeling and had threads coming off, not to mention sizing wasn't that great, tight in some spots loose in others.
The boots were barely passable as motorcycle boots especially after seeing the better quality ones other shops offer and yet CNELL charge the same, if not more.
The pants, the kevlar jeans seemed to be ill fitting even for the right size for me (never tried them on but the way they were shaped you could tell, and the size for me didn't pass the old neck wrap check whereas the good ones I got from motomail did fit me nicely). The jeans I assume for that price are also cheap chinese stitching methods with poor quality material. You could spend $100 more and get some decent kevlar jeans for a reputable shop.

You'll see what I mean if you saw their gear in person and had a feel and/or tried it on. Feels cheap but isn't really cheap unless you win their $1 res auctions or something. You can get better gear at other shops for the same RRP.

Honestly I wouldn't touch the stuff and went and spent a bit more cash and got some decent gear that even came with warranties. At best I'd wear CNELL stuff on a scooter for when I fly off in town at 50ks or something.

[bigreddog]

Every item of cnell I've seen has been of dubious quality, personally I wouldn't buy it or wear it.
However you do get what you pay for and its supply and demand.

[iYRe]

Every item of cnell I've seen has been of dubious quality, personally I wouldn't buy it or wear it.
However you do get what you pay for and its supply and demand.

2.5 years ago I bought a jacket, 2 helmets, some pants and some gloves.

The gloves are history.. but I have worn the pants and the jacket daily for 2 years, rain hail and snow.. They stopped being waterproof last year, and only now are starting to fall apart a bit... not bad for 140$.

[GrayWolf]

2.5 years ago I bought a jacket, 2 helmets, some pants and some gloves.

The gloves are history.. but I have worn the pants and the jacket daily for 2 years, rain hail and snow.. They stopped being waterproof last year, and only now are starting to fall apart a bit... not bad for 140$.

Some of the 'cheapo online sales gear' is of 'OK' quality. I have purchased selected items (kevlar jeans example) from Cnell, other gear they sell is simply NOT up to the job of protection. The leather jacket for casual wear I have mentioned before with the arm attached to the body by a single seam is a Cnell biker jacket. It WILL separate under any reasonable stress.
Apart from that, most of the budget jackets here are only 1.2-1.4mm thick. Recommended minimum is 2mm for effective protection. Cordura good quality is 8/900D+ not 600, and with the acknowledged highly abrasive chip used on NZ roads??
Most of the Cordura jackets sold cheaply are just that, cheap. I also ride every day, no car, and have ridden for 40 years now, so I have worn, and worn out, just about every type of gear that has been sold over the years. I wont argue the point your jacket has lasted 2 years, I'd expect it to. Some of my decent jackets are 5yrs old now. I wear an Ixon to commute daily (my oldest jacket), and it is still 'water resistant' after 2 years+ commuting, but starting to get a bit worn, and 'ratty' inside... NOTHING is waterproof, given enough time/distance, water WILL find a way in

[iYRe]

Some of the 'cheapo online sales gear' is of 'OK' quality. I have purchased selected items (kevlar jeans example) from Cnell, other gear they sell is simply NOT up to the job of protection. The leather jacket for casual wear I have mentioned before with the arm attached to the body by a single seam is a Cnell biker jacket. It WILL separate under any reasonable stress.
Apart from that, most of the budget jackets here are only 1.2-1.4mm thick. Recommended minimum is 2mm for effective protection. Cordura good quality is 8/900D+ not 600, and with the acknowledged highly abrasive chip used on NZ roads??
Most of the Cordura jackets sold cheaply are just that, cheap. I also ride every day, no car, and have ridden for 40 years now, so I have worn, and worn out, just about every type of gear that has been sold over the years. I wont argue the point your jacket has lasted 2 years, I'd expect it to. Some of my decent jackets are 5yrs old now. I wear an Ixon to commute daily (my oldest jacket), and it is still 'water resistant' after 2 years+ commuting, but starting to get a bit worn, and 'ratty' inside... NOTHING is waterproof, given enough time/distance, water WILL find a way in

I've been riding for 30 odd years myself...

My problem is budget, I cant afford $500-800 for a jacket unless I am 100% that I wll get 5 years out of it. TBH, I cant even afford 500$ even if I dont.. so I have to make do. If you're just starting out and need to get fully kitted up in gear that will afford at least some protection, then this stuff works. There is other stuff too, though, like 1tonne, and lifestyle imports gear. Another option is the Army Surplus shop in Onehunga, where you can get secondhand branded gear.. like dririder and ixon.

[granstar]

Cnell boots are comfy to wear as rally slippers, totally useless in heavy rain.

[Ribit]

A few people have mentioned you get what you pay for....
I find it disappointing that my alpinestars pants has stitching coming apart and the jacket's velcro is not sticking anymore. It shows ya dont always get top quality for top dollar.
I've been using a pair of cnells boots for about 1.5 years for commuting and they're holding up well. treated with mink oil they're even water proof. Sister had some of their racing style boots and they fell apart. So some stuffs good and some aint.

[Big Dog]

Visited store, some goods are only for show, some are good, some are surprisingly good. The chap there was pretty straight up about what was shit.


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[nzspokes]

I've been riding for 30 odd years myself...

My problem is budget, I cant afford $500-800 for a jacket unless I am 100% that I wll get 5 years out of it. TBH, I cant even afford 500$ even if I dont.. so I have to make do. If you're just starting out and need to get fully kitted up in gear that will afford at least some protection, then this stuff works. There is other stuff too, though, like 1tonne, and lifestyle imports gear. Another option is the Army Surplus shop in Onehunga, where you can get secondhand branded gear.. like dririder and ixon.

Budget gear is budget for a reason. When I slid down the road 2 items failed. Both cheap items from bike shops.

Finding out when sliding down the road something is shit is not a happy place. I was only doing 50kph. Sharon had quality gear on in her off and it paid off big time.

Keep an eye out for sales. I got most of my gear I have now from Motomail when they have sales. I dont give a shit its last years version. My leather pants from memory were $799 down to $399 as they were very old model. My textile jacket was the same kind of saving.

I bought a second pair of boots off TM as the guy bought them online and they were half a size out for him so I got them for $100. In Cycletreads they are $399.

Wear gear for the slide not for the ride.

[Ribit]

Wear gear for the slide not for the ride.

ya dont wanna end up with skid marks like these ones....

Another good saying is:
Quality is remembered long after the price is forgotten.
Especially with helmets. Money is well spent on a good brain box as far as i'm concerned.

[nzspokes]

ya dont wanna end up with skid marks like these ones....

Another good saying is:
Quality is remembered long after the price is forgotten.
Especially with helmets. Money is well spent on a good brain box as far as i'm concerned.

Thats brilliant.

[rustyrobot]

Budget gear is budget for a reason. When I slid down the road 2 items failed. Both cheap items from bike shops

Care to name names? (Of the gear not the shops)

My gear is getting a bit dated and due for upgrades soon.

[skippa1]

ya dont wanna end up with skid marks like these ones....

Another good saying is:
Quality is remembered long after the price is forgotten.
Especially with helmets. Money is well spent on a good brain box as far as i'm concerned.

That's gotta sting.

[nzspokes]

Care to name names? (Of the gear not the shops)

My gear is getting a bit dated and due for upgrades soon.

I cant remember, will dig them out later and look.